University of Connecticut Athletics
Stephon Castle Named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year
3/13/2024 1:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NEW YORK – After posting one of the most impressive freshman seasons in league history, UConn men's basketball standout Stephon Castle (Covington, Ga.) has been named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year. The honor for Castle comes after he set the league record with 11 BIG EAST Freshman of the Week nods.
Castle is the sixth Husky in program history to earn BIG EAST Freshman of the Year honors and first since Rudy Gay in the 2004-05 season. The last overall player from Connecticut to earn Freshman of the Year honors was Daniel Hamilton, winning the AAC's honor in 2014-15.
This season the 6-6 freshman has been a revelation for the Huskies, making 21 starts in his 25 appearances and averaging 11.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 26.9 minutes per game. Castle is shooting 47.4 percent from the floor and has added 25 steals and 13 blocks, often drawing an opponent's top scorer on the perimeter.
In league play Castle's scoring upticked to 11.8 points per game as he recorded three 20-point outings in conference action. He hit the 20-point mark in back-to-back games midway through league play with a 20-point effort against Providence on Jan. 31 before topping that with a career-high 21 against St. John's on Feb. 3. He tied that career-high of 21 in an impressive 9-of-12 shooting day against Seton Hall on March 3.
Castle's contributions helped Connecticut to one of the most dominant seasons in BIG EAST history. The Huskies won a league-record 18 conference games, rattled off a 14-game winning streak to tie the longest in a single-season in league history and won the league by four games.
UConn shifts to postseason mode on Thursday when it begins play at the BIG EAST Tournament. The top-seeded Huskies will take on Butler or Xavier in quarterfinal action at noon.
